Dismountable side walls of concrete product casting molds equipped with different kinds of attachment arrangements are known from the prior art. These side walls structures are attachable in desired positions on the casting bed according to the size and shape of the concrete element being cast.
When modular building panels are to be cast from a concrete mix, casting is generally performed onto a planar-bottom casting mold known as a casting bed, or tipping bed, that is equipped with side walls. The casting machine travels above the bed and meters concrete mix into the mold. After the cast element is cured, the bed is tipped about an axis of rotation aligned at its one edge into an almost vertical position, the side wall thus becoming the top side of the mold is removed and the cast object is elevated away from the casting bed by eyelets provided at its sides. The position of the top wall of the mold must be settable according to the shape of the modular element being cast, whereby this task can be accomplished using dismountable side walls.
By virtue of the dismountable and movable side wall panels, it is also possible to provide a modular building element with door or window openings at desired points.
The use of clamp magnets for attaching dismountable side walls of molds is already known in the art, wherein they are most appropriate for attaching a side wall by adhering to the smooth steel surface of the casting bed. To achieve secure clamping of the side wall, strong magnets must be used to attain a clamping force of, e.g., 15 kN. One example of an embodiment based on the use a clamp magnet is disclosed in FI utility model no. 4258.
Clamp magnets used today for attaching box-section side walls are provided with operating means extending above the top level of the side walls. The mechanical function of the clamp magnets and requirements of robotic handling means thereof necessitate the use of such operating means. One embodiment of this kind is described in patent publication EP 1 106 314.
However, this kind of operating means extending above the top level of the casting mold side walls cause a substantial difficulty in the leveled casting and troweling of the building element top surface inasmuch as the projecting operating means of the clamp magnets obstruct the vibrating and troweling members traveling above the side wall top edges. Moreover, such operating means make it difficult to store the clamp magnets above one another.